The Collector Book One: Mana Leak by Daniel I Russell Read Free Book Online

five or six years old. She stared up at him.
    Behind her, in the hall, the boy held Betsy back by the collar. The dog growled and tried to bolt to the front door. The boy strained as Betsy pushed forward.
    Joe cleared his throat.
    “Hello there. I don’t suppose your mum is home?”
    The girl, still in her primary school uniform, just gazed up at him.
    Jesus, I hope she’s not deaf or a mute or something.
    “Mum,” the boy shouted from behind her. “Someone at the door.”
    The girl turned. Giggling, she ran up the stairs.
    “Who is it?” rang a cry from somewhere in the house.
    “I don’t know,” whined the boy. “You’re going to have to come see. It’s a man.”
    Joe rocked back and forth on his heels, his hands fidgeting with the contents of his pockets.
    This was a bad idea. No, it was a stupid idea. The poor woman’s got enough on her plate being alone with her two young kids after a big barmy with her husband. I should just…
    Anne appeared through a doorway and walked into the hall. “Charlie, take Betsy into the kitchen and make sure that you close the door this time!”
    “Yes, Mum.”
    Anne stepped past the struggling boy, wringing her hands dry on a tea towel. From the delicious aroma drifting down the hall, Joe gathered she was preparing dinner. She draped the cloth over her shoulder and finally looked up at her visitor.
    “Erm…hey,” he said. “I don’t know if you remember me, but…”
    Anne stopped dead with an expression of horror.
    “I remember. You’re Eleanor’s son - sorry, grandson. I’m really sorry again about before. If there’s any damage, then…”
    “No, no, no,” said Joe and smiled. “There’s not a mark.”
    “That’s why you’ve come over, isn’t it? There’s a scratch, or your brakes are broken because you slammed on so hard…”
    “There’s nothing. Really. Don’t worry.”
    “Or you,” Anne continued her nervous babble, “you might have whiplash and you’ve come over to warn me of doctor’s bills and solicitor’s letters…”
    Joe almost reached out to take the woman’s arms in a gentle grip, just to calm her down. He immediately thought better of it.
    “Mrs Harper, please. I’m just here to see if the dog’s okay. Honestly.”
    Anne stopped talking, mouth hanging open mid word. The poor woman looked a bag of nerves on the edge of collapse. Her eyes were still bloodshot and glistening, even in the failing light of the evening.
    “Betsy, the dog,” he said. “Just wanted to be sure she’s okay. I’d be a wreck for a while if it was the other way around, not that a dog would be driving a car, but you get what I mean, hopefully…”
    Anne stood in silence.
    Stop rambling, man!
    Joe cleared his throat again and gulped.
    “Anyway, from the reception she gave me, she sounds like she’s full of life.”
    Anne leaned to the side to peer around him and out into the street.
    “So…that’s all…really,” he said, more uncomfortable. “I could always pop around again tomorrow just in case-”
    “No,” Anne snapped. Joe flinched. “You can’t!”
    He stepped back and nearly tripped into a flower bed.
    She leaned forwards out of the doorway, glancing back and forth along the street.
    “I think you’d better leave,” she said in a quiet voice, staring out to the end of Penny Crescent.
    “I’m sorry,” Joe replied.
    The front door closed with a click.
    Why the hell did you come over here? Are you that much of a moron?
    He also checked the street for her husband, figuring that it might look a bit odd: a strange man leaving his house. A man of his temper was to be avoided.
    He rubbed his arms through his shirt, trying to generate some warmth. Cold and embarrassed, he headed back.

The Deans
    1.
    Adam Dean, whistling the tune to Oh Baby Baby I Love You , reached into the pocket of his white tracksuit pants. He pulled out a ten deck of Lambert and Butler cigarettes. The wall had been pleasantly warm earlier, but had since chilled with